Data entry is an important aspect of modern aviation. One example of when data entry is required is the entry of Air Traffic Control (ATC) information, such as ATC clearances, into an onboard flight computer. Conventionally, in order to record ATC clearances relating to, for example, which runway of an airport to land on, the correct barometer pressure setting to be used in the landing procedure and so on, the aircraft pilot manually enters these clearances into an onboard computer after receiving these clearances from ATC personnel. In particular, ATC personnel may communicate these instructions verbally by way of a transmission means such as a radio, or via text instructions by way of a Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) protocol.
Manual entry of ATC clearances into the onboard computer increases the workload of the pilot. Furthermore, these clearances may be received only shortly before the pilot must begin landing preparation procedures, thereby disadvantageously increasing the pilot's workload at a time where the pilot's workload is already high. The manual entry of the ATC clearances by the pilot may therefore be inconvenient for the pilot, and may increase the likelihood of data entry errors by the pilot.
Data entry errors may also occur when adverse aircraft conditions result in difficulty in entering the data into the onboard computer. For example, in low-light or turbulent conditions, data entry operations may be impeded, and the likelihood of a data entry error (such as an inadvertent transposing of digits) may consequently increase.
It is therefore desirable to reduce the likelihood of data entry errors occurring during the data entry procedure, and also to reduce pilot workload in entering data.